Organic Gardening: Getting Started with John Grogan

Are you looking to grow your garden without using chemicals or synthetis fertilizer? Join John Grogan, managing editor of Organic Gardening magazine and a lifelong gardener, for tips and advice on starting your own organic garden.

Event Date: 06/01/2000.

The opinions expressed by Mr. Grogan are his and his alone. If you have
questions about your health, you should consult your personal physician. This
event is meant for informational purposes only.

Moderator: Welcome to WebMD Live! Our guest today is John
Grogan. We are discussing organic gardening.

Grogan: Basically, organic gardening is simply trying to
replicate nature in the garden. That means no synthetic fertilizers or
pesticides. It also means working with nature instead of trying to overpower it.
Organic gardeners pay a lot of attention to building healthy soil. When your
soil is healthy and alive, all the other pieces fall into place.

Morris71_Lycos: When should I begin planting my garden?

Grogan: That depends on where you live, but generally most
vegetables go in after the last average frost date for your area. Here in
Pennsylvania, that's May 1. Some cool-weather crops, such as cabbage, broccoli
and beets, can go in before. Of course, peas love it cold. I planted my peas on
St. Patrick's Day. They're now knee-high and blossoming.

Morris71_Lycos: Are genetically modified seeds a part of
organic gardening or do I need to buy non-GM (genetically modified)seeds?

Grogan: GM seeds definitely are NOT a part of organics. The good news is not many seeds for the home garden
are GM. Those are mostly used on a large-farm scale. Our magazine just did a
large report (Jan/Feb 2000) on the problems with GM foods and seed. We did a lot
of research and found many things to worry about.

Moderator: What did you find in your research? Any
surprises?

Grogan: The biggest surprise was that GM foods do not have
to appear on labels. So when you eat a bag of potato chips you have no idea
whether those potatoes were bred to have their own pesticide built into them.
Also, some GM foods have been found to trigger allergies in people, such as a
soybean that had Brazil nut genes spliced into it. My biggest concerns are
environmental. The pollen drift from GM crops can contaminate organic fields,
and lead to lots of problems, including resistant strains of bugs and weeds.
Also, GM seed is patented, and farmers who use it are prohibited from saving
seed from one season to the next, which is a time-honored tradition.

Moderator: Have the latest USDA rulings regarding organic
labeling had any impact on the home gardener?

Grogan: Not on the home gardener, but certainly on the
consumer. We now will be able to know with confidence that something labeled
"certified organic" really followed stringent requirements. Those
requirements include no use of synthetic pesticides, no GM seed, no irradiation
or sewage sludge, et cetera.

Moderator: Well, let's go back to gardening basics.

Grogan: OK.

Moderator: What does one need to do before planting. Are
there secrets to soil preparation?

Grogan: Yes, and it's easy: Compost! Compost is merely decomposed vegetable matter. It's full of nutrients and
helpful bacteria and other microscopic organisms. We have all sorts of studies
documenting the wonderful effects compost has on garden soil -- and plants.

Morris71_Lycos: I've been meaning to start a compost heap.
What can go into it and what can't?

Grogan: OK. The basics: No meat, no cheese, no cooked foods
or bread. That will attract rodents. But everything else is game: Lawn
clippings, leaves, potato peels and other kitchen scraps Even dog hair and
fingernail clippings. The idea is to have a mix of green material and brown
material. Too much green (like a mat of grass clippings) will get stinky; too
much brown (like all wood chips) and it won't decompose. The other secret is to
keep it damp but not soggy, like a wrung-out sponge. And the more air it gets,
the faster it breaks down. So most gardeners turn their pile with a pitchfork
every couple weeks.

mold28_WebMD: How do I know when the compost is ready to be
used?

Grogan: It will be black and crumbly, and you won't be able
to identify the stuff that went into it. It should just look like good-quality
potting soil. But compost that is only partially finished, and still has sticks
and leaves visible in it, is still great used as a mulch on top of the soil.